AN: Here we go, another little chapter.

And for those who were wondering…I know I threw some of you off with Traveler's Meditation because it was short…but this one is planned to be a longer fic…so there's much to come in this one.

I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!

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Carol did her best to elbow her way through the quickly forming crowd if people moving like a wave toward the entrance to Oasis, the arrival of the run group announced by the sound of motors outside and the sound of the person on gate watch announcing the arrival.

People would puddle around for such things, some to greet their loved ones, some to try to get a first peek at any possible goods that had come on, and some for nothing more than the entertainment value and to collect any gossip that might be available to them coming in about the run.

"Excuse me..." Carol called out as she elbowed her way through the crowd. "Excuse me…I've got people coming in…"

The crowd didn't part easily, though a few people stepped out of her way here and there as everyone moved to allow the vehicles to pass inside. They would pull inside the gate, stop for a moment, and then they'd pull through the streets of the community to their drop off points…and Carol wanted to get through before they went to drop off.

"Move…I've got a child…move," she heard Michonne's voice and found the woman quicker than she was managing to elbow through those gathering close together to talk.

And Michonne, even though she was carrying Judith who might have gotten lost trying to toddle her way through the crowd, was making better time than Carol was at parting people, so Carol reached up and caught her by the shoulder to make herself part of a human chain.

Michonne glanced briefly to identify who had the audacity to grab her, but seeing it was Carol she didn't say anything and continued to guide them through. And Carol felt someone grab her only to turn to identify Sasha's fingers resting on her shoulder to make a conga line that made Judith, looking over Michonne's shoulder, laugh, and inspired Carol and Sasha to laugh to.

Breaking through the wall of people and coming closer to the vehicles, they broke apart and Carol and Sasha both went toward Tyreese.

He caught Sasha in a hug first, asked her quickly if Bob was back and if everything had gone well, and then he turned and caught Carol into a hug, pulling her tight against him.

"Worried about you," he said.

She chuckled.

"And I worried about you," she said, pulling back a little. "No problems?"

"Nothing terrible," Tyreese said. "Walkers…one of the men cut his leg pretty good…dropped something he was carrying and didn't catch it right. But there's nothing that won't heal."

Carol moved back in to kiss him and he anticipated the move, kissing her in return and catching her in another hug that she sunk into, happy that everything had gone well and they weren't returning with any tragic news or any of the sullen faces searching out next of kin in the crowd.

"You've got to be tired," Carol commented.

"And I smell terrible," Tyreese said backing away from Carol enough for her to take him in with his three day beard growth and the desperate need for a shower. It was evident, by his eyes, that he hadn't slept much either. He'd be dead tired and probably had more than enough right to be.

"I hadn't noticed," Carol said, smiling at him and shaking her head. "I'm just glad you're back…that's all that matters."

He smiled at her and looked back toward the others in the run group that were starting to find their places again, their people having been greeted, to get ready to move and unload.

"We've got a ton of stuff to unload," Tyreese said. "I better get on that…"

Carol nodded.

"Go…unload…take a shower," Carol said. "I'm supposed to be at commissary all day today…but I'll bring you something to eat…have lunch with you? Then you can take a nap until dinner…perfect return home."

He chuckled.

"You won't take a nap with me?" He teased.

She shook her head.

"No…" she said, poking him playfully. "I won't take a nap with you…but I will stay long enough to see you get to sleep."

She winked at him and he nodded his head before reaching out and catching her around the shoulder, pulling her closer to him but in a more playful hug than before. He released her and started back toward the groups to go and unload, and Carol started back, along with the dispersing bunch of people, toward the commissary so that she could work a bit longer handing out food and getting things ready to start the evening meal for which preparation had to begin not long after the lunch crowd moved out.

She knew by now that no one would say anything when she took a little time off later to welcome Tyreese home properly…and she was looking forward to it. The night before, like all the nights when he was gone, were longer than they had to be…but tonight she would rest easier.

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"I have to go…" Carol said for what was probably the third time…but she didn't want to go any more than Tyreese wanted to let her go. She was considering behaving quite badly and not showing up for the rest of her time at commissary, and she might have done it, but she knew that if they were short handed, counting on her return, that it would put stress on the others…and she didn't want to do that either.

Tyreese, in response to her insistence that she needed to go…that she needed to leave him to nap a little and recover from the run, slid his arm under her and pulled her tighter to his body, kissing the side of her face and humming to her like he had before…and before it had worked to make her stay a little longer.

She hummed back at him, though, turning her head enough to kiss him softly and she physically untangled herself from him against his protests while he kept a hand on her until she'd gotten out of the bed and out of his reach, and then he flopped with a put on complaint that faded into a laugh and hugged the pillow.

He was falling asleep anyway, and he probably wouldn't give into it entirely until she left.

Carol went about getting dressed then, leaving him to rest, and planted a kiss on his cheek, disturbing the light snoring that had begun, just before she slipped out of the house and made her way back to fall into work. She'd let him sleep…bring home dinner after her shift and leave it for whenever they wanted it, and shower before she woke him.

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"There's a feast tonight!" Carol said when Abraham walked up, looking over his choices for the meal…they were limited, but they at least tried to have two items a meal that people could choose from…at least those who got there early enough to get the choice. It gave the feeling, or so they all liked to think, of having an abundance of options.

"What's that one?" Abraham asked, looking into the dishes she was spooning the "optional vegetable out of".

"We've got greens and beans," Carol said with a laugh.

She wasn't sure if it was her good mood or if the rhyming made it funny, but every time she'd had to say it out loud, it had amused her a little.

"What do you recommend?" Abraham said, something of a smile creeping across his lips at her obvious amusement.

"Go for the greens," she said with a nod. "That's what I got on the plates I put aside…"

"Greens it is," he said with a nod.

He accepted his plate from her, thanked her warmly, and stepped out of line, allowing the next person up to step forward.

Carol went through three of the women that she somewhat knew from the community, sharing a quick exchange with them during which they asked her about Tyreese and if the run had gone well, and one of them thanked her for switching shifts with her on another job, all taking their plates with satisfaction.

And then Carol saw, pushing his way forward, Will.

Will was one of the single men that lived with Daryl…he was very intelligent, but a little awkward. As a result, Carol thought he was pretty much adorable since she enjoyed the way he got tangled up in things because he wasn't quite as adept at some at social interactions.

He stepped up, pushing up his glasses with his finger, and peered into the dishes she was serving from for a moment.

"You look nice tonight, Miss Carol," Will commented.

He was probably in his mid-forties…not a boy at all…but he insisted on calling all the women "Miss" and all the men "Mister," no matter his level of acquaintance with them or what they stated he was welcome to call them.

"Thank you Will…you look handsome," Carol said with a smile.

"You look better than you did at lunch…fresher…" Will commented.

Carol smiled.

She'd learned that Will's compliments, although sometimes less than "nice" or even "ordinary" by some standards, were always genuinely meant…and therefore she never took offense to how they might be worded. He didn't mean, she knew, the way that they came out sometimes.

"Thank you Will…beans or…" Carol started but Will interrupted her.

"Is that spinach?" Will asked.

Carol shook her head.

"Greens," Carol stated.

"Collard, Mustard, or Turnip?" Will asked.

Carol raised her eyebrows and shook her head.

"I'm not sure," she said. "I'm almost certain that it's just a mix of everything."

Will looked disappointed…but of course he would. He was very specific and he liked for things to be precise.

"I suppose that I'll have the beans," Will commented. "Though…there are a number of benefits to the greens…the beans also provide more protein in addition to the…what's the meat for tonight?"

"Venison," Carol said.

Will looked a little disappointed again, but didn't say anything.

"For Christ's sake!" Daryl commented, standing behind Will and almost blocked from Carol's view by the man's body. "Just pick somethin'…everybody else gotta eat too…"

Carol knew that some people got a little antsy while waiting in line…but honestly most people didn't get too bothered by it. You took your time so they didn't feel so bad taking their own.

"Tell you what," Carol said, dipping Will's plate, "I'll put a little of both…then you won't have to decide."

Will smiled broadly at this option. It was one that she would have offered to anyone having such an obvious dilemma…but few people found the dinner time decision to be so difficult.

Will accepted his plate, thanked Carol warmly, and wished her a restful sleep before he stepped out of line and Daryl stepped up, shaking his head…obviously at Will.

"Just gimme beans," Daryl commented.

Carol nodded her head and served up the beans, the smile fading that she'd been wearing while she was talking to Will…and the women before…and Abraham…and everyone else who had passed through her line because at least they'd greeted her with something of a smile or a "good evening" when they'd approached.

"I hope you have a good night, Daryl," Carol said, handing him the plate and offering him something of a half-smile since it was all that she could muster since their encounter the night before in the shower house.

"Yeah…" Daryl said, glancing at her and making eye contact with her for the first time in a while. "You too," he said with a nod.

He took his plate and Carol watched him for a moment as he trailed off to go eat…and then she turned her attention back toward the others coming to pass through her line, meeting their greetings and their smiles with greetings and smiles of her own.